The Jets officially have their Week 1 opponent, and it's a doozy.
New York takes on the defending Super Bowl runner-up 49ers on the road in San Francisco. The rest of the Jets' 2024 regular season schedule will be released over the next 24 hours before the full slate of games is announced on May 15. New York already has one of the easiest schedules in the NFL, but they'll begin the season with a tough one.
For now, let's dive into Week 1. This game features two teams hungry for the playoffs. The Jets haven't been to the postseason in 13 consecutive seasons — which is among the longest active playoff droughts in American professional sports. They'll hope a healthy Aaron Rodgers can break that streak in 2024. The 49ers, meanwhile, keep getting close but ultimately losing out on a championship. San Francisco fell to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl this past season and the 49ers have been to three consecutive conference championships and four in five years.
Here are the top storylines to watch in the Jets' Week 1 game against the 49ers on Monday Night Football.
Jets vs. 49ers Week 1 storylines to watch
Rodgers vs. Leonard Floyd
Jets fans and Rodgers fans should shutter when they hear Leonard Floyd's name. He's the defender whose sack of Rodgers caused the Achilles tear that ended Rodgers' — and the Jets' — 2023 season. And he signed with the 49ers this offseason after he spent the 2023 season with the Bills.
It's not Floyd's fault that Rodgers tore his Achilles, but the prospect of lightning striking twice is scary. The Jets have done almost everything they could this offseason to make sure that doesn't happen again, particularly by adding four new offensive linemen to the team in Tyron Smith, Morgan Moses, John Simpson and 2024 first-round pick Olu Fashanu.
Rodgers vs. 49ers
Rodgers has beef with the 49ers. Not personal beef, but certainly professional beef. He's lost to San Francisco twice in the postseason over the past five years — first in the 2019 NFC title game and then in the 2022 NFC divisional round, which was ultimately his final game with the Packers. Funny enough, Rodgers is 6-3 against the 49ers in the regular season but 0-4 against them in the postseason.
Robert Saleh's return to San Francisco
The Jets hired head coach Saleh in 2021 after four successful seasons as the defensive coordinator for the 49ers. Saleh enjoyed a lot of success in San Francisco and turned their defense from one of the worst to one of the best in just three seasons. He also earned a lot of acclaim as a passionate sideline coach.
Breece Hall faces college roommate
Hall was very close with 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy for their three years together at Iowa State. Not only did they play together, but the two were roommates for two years as well. Hall has spoken highly of Purdy as a teammate, quarterback and roommate and wasn't surprised Purdy went from the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft to the told the NFC with the 49ers.
Malachi Corley: the next Deebo Samuel?
Jets third-round pick Malachi Corley got a lot of Deebo Samuel comparisons during the 2024 NFL Draft. They're very similar in height and weight (Samuel is 6-foot, Corley is 5-11 and they both weigh 215 pounds) and both are known for their yards after the catch ability. This will be Corley's NFL debut, too, meaning it'll be the first time the league sees how the Jets incorporate him into the offense. Will they use him like the 49ers use Samuel? We shall see.
Nathaniel Hackett's offense
Jets offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett was such a bad offensive play-caller in 2023 that the Jets tried to effectively replace him this offseason. This all but confirms two things: That Rodgers is the true play-caller for New York and that Hackett is only there to appease the quarterback. That's not a great sign for New York, but it won't matter if the team still produces. This will be Hackett's first shot to show the team and the sports world that he can hack it as an OC. He'll face one of the toughest defenses in the NFL, but he'll also — conceivably — have Rodgers under center for more than four snaps this time.
